Braves Bottom Half Needs Tweaking in Order To Stay Alive

The Braves' offense is going down by the stern; they are dying from the ground up. However you put it, Atlanta's bottom four (excluding pitchers) aren't producing the numbers they should be.

Last week within the violent tempest of letting the legendary Tom Glavine go, Atlanta acquired center fielder Nate McLouth from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The All-Star from Pittsburgh supplanted the faltering rookie Jordan Schafer, who was sent down to Class-AAA Gwinnett.

General manager Frank Wren hoped McLouth would provide an extra bat to a lineup that commentator Chip Caray declared was consistent at being inconsistent.

So far McLouth is doing his job. As the Braves' new leadoff man, McLouth is batting .333 with six hits and two RBI, including a home run, stolen base, and a pair of doubles.

McLouth's addition to the team is a blessing, but it is also drawing out more weaknesses as well. The Braves' first four men in the lineup (McLouth, Escobar, Jones, and McCann) may be one of the best front four in the National League.

However, the fifth through eighth slots in the lineup may be considered one of the worst, prompting GM Frank Wren to possibly have to go out and get another bat.

The stagnation of the bottom order may come as a surprise to some since Garret Anderson, Jeff Francoeur, and Kelly Johnson are routinely slotted there. When one takes a look at the stats, however, the numbers don't lie.

Braves front runners McLouth, Escobar, Chipper Jones, and McCann are batting a powerful .421 in the last four games, including 19 RBI. Conversely, the back half of the order has put up a sparse .157 and only one RBI (Garret Anderson's HR last night in the ninth) within the same time span.

The numbers are somewhat skewed since Atlanta's first baseman Casey Kotchman is on the DL with a bruised shin suffered in Arizona.

Taking up first base have been Martin Prado and Greg Norton. Prado is batting .273 on the year while Norton, who played a solid situational pinch hitter last year, is batting an unremarkable .098 for the year.

What can the Braves do in order to bolster the bottom of the lineup? One quick fix may be allowing Matt Diaz more playing time. At the moment Diaz is platooning left field with Garret Anderson.

Currently Diaz is hitting .276 with a .419 slugging percentage. Anderson is hitting .254 and slugging .373, but he has shown improvement. Diaz is also getting on base more often with a .353 OBP to Anderson's .288 OBP. Diaz usually plays against left-handed pitching, where he hits best.

After each passing game the fans' call for Jeff Francoeur to be traded grows louder. The Lilburn, Ga. native has taken a fall from grace from his stellar debut in 2005. The right fielder even spent a three-day stint in the minor leagues last year to get his hitting back online.

Diaz has played in right field this past week, and that also could be a possible option for the Braves.

Atlanta could also trade for another bat. Fingers point to Matt Holiday and Brad Hawpe as potential players to provide extra lumber. The Braves would have to dish out heavily for players of Holiday and Hawpe caliber.

Potential trade bait could be pitchers Javier Vazquez or Kenshin Kawakami. The Braves could possibly go that route since they have Kris Medlen, who could be the No. 5 man until Tim Hudson comes back from Tommy John surgery in August or September.

The Braves could also reach into their farm system in order to try to jump start the lower half of their offense. Players such as Brandon Jones and Jason Heyward could be the answer to the Braves' problems.

The problem could be as simple as mixing and matching the present lineup until manager Bobby Cox finds a comfortable fit.

Atlanta could also wait and see if Anderson and Francoeur will come around to true form, hope Kelly Johnson will explode his numbers like he did last year, or wait until next week when Kotchman will hopefully return.

Fans, however, don't seem too kind to the notion of just waiting around. Braves fans have gone four years now without being in the playoffs and are hungrier than ever. They want solutions sooner rather than later.